ERC Grants

The Primus competition is intended to enable selected young researchers to develop their own independent research programme and to offer an internationally comparable environment for the scientific work of early-career researchers and master’s and doctoral students. Its motivation is based on the principles underlying the activities of the European Research Council (ERC).

Project implementation should guide the principal investigator towards subsequently applying for major international individual grants, in particular ERC grants.

The European Research Council (ERC) supports outstanding scientists with the aim of advancing frontier research and opening new interdisciplinary fields of knowledge.

The ERC does not support networks or international consortia, but individual Principal Investigators (PIs) and their research teams. The sole evaluation criterion is scientific excellence — both of the project and of the applicant. This includes previous achievements in the field as well as the requirement for a genuinely novel, groundbreaking idea that is not merely a continuation of earlier work but has the potential to significantly influence the discipline, push its boundaries, or open new research perspectives.

EUROPEAN CENTRE – ERC Support at Charles University

Do you have questions about ERC? Would you like to discuss your project concept or receive guidance on preparing an application? Do not hesitate to contact the European Centre and join the university’s ERC Pipeline from the very beginning of your project preparation. (Some faculties also operate their own internal ERC Pipeline; in such cases, it is advisable to contact the faculty’s research office or grant office first. In other cases, you are welcome to contact the university’s ERC consultant, .)

We offer interested applicants:

- support during the project preparation phase (assessment, review, and feedback on your proposal),

- information on ERC events (National ERC Information Day, applicant workshops, mock interviews for candidates, workshops for project managers and institutions).